My Husband Parents Differently Than Me (and that’s OK)

This sponsored post is to celebrate fatherhood and season 2 of Marlon, which premieres Thursday June 14th at 9pm on NBC.

Here’s the fun thing about dads: they love to do their own thing. I’ve yet to meet a dad that didn’t take on parenting with his own style. They all have their values, and the lessons they want to teach their children, but they tend to go about it in a way that feels natural to them.

Brandon, my husband, parents differently than me, and after 12 years, I’m finally realizing that’s OK. It used to frustrate me, and was the cause of many of our squabbles, but here’s what I’ve noticed about his parenting style that I actually admire.

He Has Dad Jokes

Listen. If I ever hear another dad joke, it’ll be too soon. My own dad had the corniest of jokes to share with me as I was growing up, and I giggled, groaned, and rolled my eyes at each one. I do the same for my husband’s dad jokes. My kids love them, though. What I realized is that his dad jokes allow our kids to see the softer side of their father. He’s a big guy, with a deep voice, and does expect a lot from our kids in terms of their behavior and their ambitions. But, those dad jokes remind them that their corny dad is always down to make them smile, and to keep them happy.

He Says No But Does It Anyway

Brandon loves to tell our kids no. It bugged me to no end, until I noticed that while he says no, he ends up doing what they asked for. The key to this insanity is that he says no to give them a chance to do things for themselves. I don’t like to say no to my kids. I go out of my way to word things differently for them, so I don’t have to say no. My very bold and candid husband declares “no” for most of the things the kids ask for, that he knows they can accomplish on their own. We’ve had our kids do some amazing things from the no they’ve received from their dad.

My husband used to say no to our oldest kiddo when he would ask to play with his video game system. Why? Because he wanted him to realize that he could just purchase his own. Guess what? Our then 11 year old son decided to do extra work at home to make enough money to buy his own gaming console AND a TV. Now, he owns something and no one can tell him “no” anymore.

He Believes In Tradition

In this new-age time, tradition can be frowned upon when it comes to parenting. But, my husband doesn’t care. He is a stickler when it comes to the traditions that will make our kids valued citizens in this world. You WILL respect your elders. You WILL say please and thank you. You WILL say “yes sir” and “yes ma’am” to your parents, and any other adult you encounter. You WILL understand that mom and dad’s relationship comes first, and you will NOT come between them. Yes, he’s old school, unlike me, but it works out so well when we are disciplining our children.

He Yells For No Reason

When a man who already has a booming voice decides to yell, everyone listens. I always tell my husband “why are you yelling?” He yells all the time, y’all. The funny thing is, he doesn’t even notice it. Because he yells so much, this is also how he talks to our kids, whether they are in trouble or due for another dad joke. I speak quietly to my kids (for the most part), so they have a parent that is soft-spoken and a parent who is…not. This has been great for the parenting of our kids, because they see that even their parents are made up differently. We have a son who is soft-spoken like me, a daughter who is a loud talker like her dad, and a baby boy who’s right in the middle. Dad “yells” because that’s how he was made, and that’s OK.

He’s The Breakout Star

My husband is a self-proclaimed superstar. He really is a star, in my mind and the minds of our kids. He has taken on parenting with such pizzazz, and I make sure to tell him how proud I am of him as much as possible. His biological dad wasn’t in his life as he was growing up, so he’s learned how to be a dad from his step-dad, grandfather, and uncles. He was very nervous to be a dad, because his own father wouldn’t step up and he didn’t want to follow in his footsteps. Well, he has nothing to worry about now. 12 years and 3 kids later, he’s the breakout parenting star of our family.

Brandon reminds me so much of Marlon Wayans’ character on his hit series, Marlon. He parents with his own style, while staying true to who he is and always interjecting some comedy into the everyday parenting tasks. Marlon is a show that Brandon and I sit down together to watch, because it is so relatable. The 2nd season of Marlon premieres Thursday June 14th at 9pm on NBC, and we can’t wait to see what kind of dad jokes Marlon’s going to tell this season. Ha!

Does your husband parent differently than you do? How do you handle it?